In manufacturing semiconductor devices, various processings, such as a film forming processing and an etching processing, are performed repeatedly on semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as wafers) serving as workpieces to manufacture desired devices.
For example, in a film forming processing on wafers, a holder configured to hold a plurality of wafers in a shelf form is disposed in a vertical heat treatment apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a vertical substrate processing apparatus), and a film is formed on the wafers by, for example, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processing and an oxidation processing.
Conventionally, a (dry) etching has been performed on the films formed on wafers one by one using, for example, a parallel-plate plasma processing apparatus. However, from the viewpoint of improvement in throughput, there has recently been suggested a process in which a film forming processing and an etching processing are both performed in a vertical substrate processing apparatus. Specifically, there has been suggested a deposition etch deposition (DED) process in which a first film forming processing, an etching processing and a second film forming processing are sequentially performed on a wafer formed with patterns such as trenches and holes in a vertical substrate processing apparatus so as to fill recesses of the patterns with a film forming material (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-209394).
Since a film forming processing and an etching processing are performed in the vertical substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of wafers may be subjected simultaneously to the film forming processing and then, the etching processing. Accordingly, it is considered that the throughput may be enhanced.